


Barbed Wire and Wings=A Hermit’s Oil and Bird

by Goldstone_Wolf



Category: Hermitcraft RPF, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Blood, Blood and Injury, Gen, Mild Peril, Screaming, all platonic relationships - Freeform, and a lot of different dynamics, barbed wire, because there's a lot of different personalities, characters in a lot of pain, death mentions, literally I use HC for writing warmups, obviously, okay now non-tws, personas only, so it's fun and useful, this was fun, tws for:
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:54:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27066727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldstone_Wolf/pseuds/Goldstone_Wolf
Summary: The ZIT team are forced to help out Grian when he manages to get himself caught in a lot of barbed wire. It’s more complicated than it sounds.
Relationships: ALL PLATONIC, Charles | Grian & Tango Tek, Charles | Grian & Zedaph (Video Blogging RPF), Charles | Grian & impulseSV (Video Blogging RPF), impulseSV & Tango Tek & Zedaph (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 190





	Barbed Wire and Wings=A Hermit’s Oil and Bird

**Author's Note:**

> Originally it was “A Hermit’s Oil and Water” but then I realised that oil and water don’t mix but they apparently go together, and birds have wings and don’t do well in oil spills so I switched the title. TWs in tags. Working on HC Whumptober (named Hermitober), stuff’s just a little complicated right now.

Tango and the others woke to a heart-wrenching scream.

Jerking upright, Tango looked over to check whether Zedaph or Impulse had just started some trashy horror movie. They were in the midst of a movie marathon (sure, it was a Disney movie marathon, but maybe one of the others had woken up and decided to switch since the others were out cold) when he’d fallen asleep. But the TV wasn’t actually playing a movie, stuck on _The Little Mermaid_ ’s menu.

Outside, the barbed wire they’d set up for keeping phantoms and other monsters out rattled. Tango glanced at Zedaph and Impulse. Both looked just as concerned. Turning, Tango grabbed a torch and jumped to his feet, summoning a sword in his other hand. “Want to come or—”

“We’re going.”

Chuckling, Tango guided them all out. A shadow with wings was wrapped in the barbed wire and Tango held the torch up. Light shone off bloodied, twisted wires and red-spattered wings with dark feathers. The owner wriggled around and whimpered, clearly panicked. Meanwhile, the torch in Tango’s hand almost dropped to the earth.

“Oh, end.”

Zedaph was the one who actually named the person. “ _Grian!”_ Rushing forwards, he climbed up into the trees, supporting the barbed wire. “Tango, hand me your sword.”

Panicking, Grian started flapping his wings and thrashing. More cries of pain echoed through the air. “Grian! Grian, _stop!”_ Impulse took Tango’s sword and scaled the tree in record time, handing the blade to Zedaph. Grabbing Grin’s shoulders carefully so as not to hurt him, he ordered, _“Stay still. You’re going to hurt yourself.”_

Grian stopped moving. Chest heaving, he whimpered as Impulse and Zedaph untangled him with the help of Tango’s torchlight. It was slow going, especially with how the twisted wires had managed to drive themselves deep into his wings. Even from where he was on the ground, Tango winced sympathetically. Small spikes dug deep into the softer flesh where his wings and back met. Blood dripped from the injuries, and if it weren’t for the fact that Tango knew Grian’s sweater was a brighter red then he wouldn’t have known something was wrong. Impulse paused every so often, applied pressure to some of the wounds, and Grian screamed. Not that Tango could blame him. He was hurting, and badly. Barbed wire wasn’t Tango’s first choice and he wasn’t sure it’d be a last resort ever again.

Another heart-rending scream left Grian’s throat and he thrashed around while Impulse and Zedaph tried to keep him still. “Grian! Grian, come on! Hold still!” Zedaph yelled, and Impulse hesitated before grabbing Grian’s head.

“Grian! _Stop moving!_ I know it hurts but you’re going to get yourself _killed_ if you keep doing this. Do you understand?” A harsh tone snapped into his voice and Grian stared at him, wide-eyed. Chest fluttering, Grian whimpered and tried looking around. There were tears dripping from his face, mixing with the blood coming from a few cuts. If he’d been hit by barbed wire there, Tango wasn’t sure. _Hopefully it was just a scrape from where he hit the trees._ A few moments passed, and Impulse took a breath. “Okay, Grian, this is really going to hurt. You’re tangled in barbed wire, but Zedaph and I are going to get you off of this tree and then we can help you more. You’re going to be fine. I promise. Okay?” Grian nodded, and Impulse continued. “You can let us know that you need to take a break when it’s too much, but we really need to get you out of this. Understand?”

Grian nodded again, and Impulse and Zedaph started working. A few moments passed, and Zedaph began to work with cutting away the barbed wire holding Grian up. The poor hermit was upside-down, wrapped up like a sleepwalker in a sleeping bag. He was almost dangling by his wings. Shifting his shoulders, Tango took a quiet breath. At least his wings weren’t ones he’d been born with. He could almost feel phantom pains in his shoulders looking at the damage to Grian’s body. “Sorry, Grian.” Zedaph apologised quickly, and Grian whimpered a few times and then murmured something about taking a break. They did. When they started back up, a few whimpers escaped his throat again.

“Ssh, ssh, Grian. It’s okay.” Impulse slowly pulled Grian into his arms. Apparently, he didn’t even care about getting hurt himself. Slowly, delicately, they slipped to the ground and Impulse began striding towards their base. “Tango, call Xisuma.”

Nodding, Tango pulled out his communicator and then started typing.

+++

**< Tango> X we need you at my base**

**< Xisuma> omw**

**< Tango> bring a health potion**

**< Tango> maybe more**

**< Xisuma> good to know stay safe**

+++

Tears ran tracks down Grian’s face as Impulse stroked his hair.

Blood soaked through the bandages they’d put on his injuries. If Impulse never remembered the sounds his friend had made, it would be too soon. A whimper left his throat and Impulse glanced at Zedaph and Tango. The former was making food as far as he could tell, staring at the oven as he cooked something. The latter was waiting for Xisuma to appear. They’d called the admin several minutes before. Either he was brewing the potions or he was travelling…Impulse hoped he was, at least.

_Come on, X. I’m not sure how much time he’s got._ He mused, studying Grian’s face. His skin had gone unnaturally pale, dark bruises sitting beneath his eyes and a wheeze to his breath. The wires had wrecked his wings, torn up his chest and arms and shoulders. Even if blood _loss_ didn’t kill him, blood _infection_ might.

“It’s okay, Grian. Ssh.” A low moan of pain left Grian’s mouth. Zedaph came over, wrapping a towel around a hot water bottle. “You’re not going to have him drink?”

“Hypovolemic shock. Eating and drinking aren’t good. You _do_ want to keep them warm, though.” Zedaph arranged the hot water bottle by Grian’s wings.

Speaking of Grian, he whimpered a few times with shaky breaths. “It hurts.” He choked out, and Impulse stroked his hair again. “I’m—I’m gon—throw up.”

Zedaph hurried over with a bucket, just in case. Grian whimpered again, trying to curl around himself as his stomach hurt. His bandaged wings shifted and he immediately cried out. “Whoa, whoa, stop moving. X is on his way, he’ll fix you up with a healing potion. Alright? You gonna be okay until then?”

Shakily, Grian nodded. Impulse wasn’t sure if he was lying or not.

+++

**_< Tango whispers to Xisuma> I think we’re losing him_ **

**_< Xisuma whispers to Tango> what happened?_ **

**_< Tango whispers to Xisuma> Grian got caught in barbed wire_ **

**_< Tango whispers to Xisuma> his chest, arms, shoulders and wings are all shredded_ **

**_< Xisuma whispers to Tango> how is he now?_ **

**_< Tango whispers to Xisuma> unconscious. we’re losing him_ **

+++

Xisuma kicked his legs out as he landed on the grass, knees bent.

He could see where Grian had smashed into the barbed wire. Rusty metal littered the ground, feathers and blood smattered around it. The lights were on in the base, and he strode inside. “Tango.”

The blond looked up, panic on his face. When Xisuma got to the couch, he could see Impulse was holding Grian’s head in his lap. Meanwhile, Zedaph was trying to treat a gaping wound to Grian’s side. “How bad?”

“He lost consciousness a few minutes ago. He’s _really_ bad.” Zedaph fretted, and Grian let out a soft groan. Dropping his volume, Zedaph whispered, “I don’t know if he’ll make it.”

Going to his hermit’s head, Xisuma uncapped one of the potions he’d brought with him (strength, instant health, and regen; for now, instant health was probably their best bet). Carefully, he coaxed it into Grian’s mouth. “Rub his throat, it’ll make him swallow. Be gentle.” Zedaph nodded and did as told, frowning while he focused.

As they eased the other potions into Grian’s blood loss-weakened form, Xisuma watched his face. Some colour returned and his eyes flicked beneath closed lids. _Come on, Grian. You’re strong. You can handle this._ Reaching over, Xisuma stroked his hair. _You have to._

Once Grian’s breathing evened out, Xisuma carefully lifted him up. “I’ll take care of him. Come if you want, I’ll just keep an eye on him. He should make it.”

The boys nodded, and Xisuma adjusted his carry before spreading his elytra and taking off.

+++

**< Grian> hey ZIT team, stop by the barge**

**< Grian> I have a thank you for you guys**

**Author's Note:**

> Which is meant to be some kind of special barge box treasure hunt for them all, I guess. Anyways, this was a nice break from Hermitober (which I know is going to be posted later today, don’t @ me y’all).  
> Anyways, hope to see you in the next fic! I had fun with this one.


End file.
